doi: 10.3850/978-981-11-0749-8_680
Injection Moulding of Microstructured 3D Plastic Parts Using Standard Stainless Steel Inserts
Lionel Tenchine1, Stéphane Dessors1, Raphaël Pugin2, Nicolas Blondiaux2, Gaëlle Andreatta2, Pierre-François Chauvy3, Matthieu Diserens3 and Philippe Vuillermoz4
1IPC, 2 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 01100 BELLIGNAT, France
2CSEM, 1 rue Jaquet-Droz, CH-2002 NEUCHATEL, Switzerland
3micropat SA, 30 Côtes-de-Montbenon, CH-1003 LAUSANNE, Switzerland
4Vuillermoz SAS, 5 rue du Tomachon, 39200 SAINT-CLAUDE, France
Abstract
Micro and nanostructuration of plastic parts provide them with specific surface properties like hydrophilic / hydrophobic behavior, adhesion enhancement, optical effects, etc. The manufacturing of such polymer parts by injection moulding faces two major challenges: microstructured areas are usually flat due to metallic inserts manufacturing technologies, and the tools are expensive. In the present work, 3D-shaped stainless steel mould inserts were microstructured, and used for producing 3D microstructured polymer parts by injection moulding. The structuration of the metallic inserts was performed by a combination of standard micro-machining and electrochemical etching through a laser-patterned coating. The integration of the micro structured inserts in the injection tool was optimized, involving technologies like additive manufacturing by selective melting of metal powder. Injection moulding was performed with additional vacuum and heating and cooling technologies in order to improve the quality of microstructures replication. Two case studies are presented: a bio-diagnostic platform and a watch glass. The quality of the replication was validated on several polymers. Best results were obtained with PP, PC and ABS/PC. The functional characterization of the two case studies confirmed the efficiency and the quality of the microstructures replication.
Keywords: Microstructures, Injection moulding, Polymer, 3D shape, Multi-scale, Stainless steel inserts.
